THE ISLANDER HOTEL
Our Resort Report
OUR Thoughts on The Islander Hotel, Panama Beachfront, Rarotonga
A delightful hotel in a sometimes-overlooked part of Rarotonga. The Islander Hotel is very handy to the airport terminals - simply trundle your suitcases over the road and you’ve arrived at the hotel reception! This place is a great spot to mingle with Cook Islanders (especially on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights) and their Tuesday night Island Night Buffet, Cultural Show and Fire Knife Dance is famous right around the island.
Their restaurant food is well-priced – everything from marinaded fish salad to steaks, smoked fish salads, burgers, pizzas and desserts and if you fancy sampling outside local cuisine, there are any number of local cafés, restaurants and bars within an easy walk or a short taxi ride. Their bars run an all-day happy hour.
The hotel is located right on the waterfront and while the lagoon immediately out front has a limited amount of sand, a short 400 metre walk along the beach towards the north brings you to an ever-widening white-sand beach facing a much wider lagoon. Another 100 metres along you round the point to Nikao Beach where you find a beautiful beach area and located along the beach, firstly Viaianna”s Bar and Bistro and further along the well-known Rarotonga Brewery.
The Islander Hotel is ideally suited to visitors seeking a laid-back environment, where you mix and mingle with local people and enjoy the local colour and culture. It’s great for couples and small groups of friends on a holiday together too. It’s also a good choice for those just wanting a reasonably priced lagoon-front base from which to explore all Rarotonga’s sights and experience everything this island has to offer.
Minimum Stay Policy
A minimum stay of 1 night is required.
The Accommodation
The 11 spacious hotel rooms are all in one block. The Islander Hotel calls them “Cabanas” , however, the rooms are all joined and are not individual stand-alone structures as the name “Cabana” might suggest.
Having said that, the rooms are very clean, pleasant and have good facilities, such as air-conditioning and a ceiling fan, tea and coffee making, TV, hair dryer, iron and Ironing board, bathrobes and a pleasant ensuite bathroom with shower.
Room Category
“Cabanas”
Average size 45m2
Maximum Occupancy: 3 guests plus a baby in a cot.
Existing Bedding: 1 Super King Bed which splits into 2 Single Beds, plus 1 Single Bed
Additional Bedding: A limited number of portacots are held and these are available when pre-booked
Getting to and from The Islander Hotel
An easy 2-minute stroll across the road from the airport terminal.
The hotel provides 2 daily shuttles to Avarua Town, (although town is only a 15-minute walk away) and 2 daily shuttles westward past the airport to a beautiful beach area known as “Black Rock” where the snorkelling is usually superb. Local buses stop right outside the hotel
Kids Policy
Children are welcome year-round
Kids Stay Free
Children aged up to 12 years (inclusive) utilising existing bedding stay free when sharing accommodation with paying adults.
Conditions:
1. The hotel has a limited number of portacots which are charged at $10 per stay. Our Travel Specialists will request a portacot for you, but the $10 fee per stay is payable by guests direct to the hotel on arrival.
Check-in/Check Out
Standard check-in and checkout times:
Check-in: 2:00pm
Check-out: 10:00am
Early Check-in and Late Check-out
Early check-in between 8:00am and 2:00pm and late check-out between 10:00am and 6:00pm are subject to confirmation no more than 24 hours prior to arrival/departure and are charged at a graduated fee payable direct to the hotel by the guest. Our Travel Specialists will happily apply for your early check-in/late check-out in advance.
To guarantee immediate access to rooms when arriving prior to 6:00am, accommodation should be booked and paid for the night prior to arrival.
To guarantee a late check-out after 6:00pm, accommodation should be reserved for an additional night.
The information on this page is correct as of 25 March 2025 and is based on our supplier contracts which are valid for stays to 31 March 2026 until such time that our current supplier contract is superseded with a new contract. All information shown is subject to change without notice.